Hospital Shows Need For Healing

This column is intended as entertainment. But psychologists who work with clients’ dreams say that dreams can hold a tremendous amount of significance; a particularly disturbing or repetitive dream may indicate the need to see a therapist.

Dear Nancy: My life has been hectic and filled with ups and downs lately. This dream was very vivid and upsetting. What could it mean? - Linda

I am with a group of people touring a veterans hospital. The patients are lying around, some in corners, others on stairs or beds. It seems more like an insane asylum and I am uncomfortable and nervous.

I am near the back of the group and all of a sudden I am alone. I try to catch up but I can’t. I want to get out of the hospital but I don’t know the way so I start going up staircases and looking in rooms. I find a good friend of mine and ask her if she will show me the way out. She says, “No way!” I am angry and hurt and I tell her I will find my own way. I finally see daylight through a window and find my way outside to a beautiful green lawn area in front of the hospital.

Dear Linda: Dreaming of hospitals usually is calling attention to the parts of our lives that need attention and healing. This can be on any level: physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. The fact that yours is a veterans hospital suggests that you feel you’ve been in a battle. What conflicts are there in your life? If your relationships have been peaceful, look within. Do you fight with yourself over what you need to do with your time and energy?

Conflicts within ourselves can make us feel crazy as suggested by the insane asylum. You are seeking a way out and your best friend refuses to help you. This indicates that you need to work this problem out by yourself; don’t expect to rely on friends for help and advice.

You finally see daylight through a window. This suggests your ability to see beyond a situation, to expand your perception. Then you are outside the hospital on green lawn. Green is the color of new growth and healing so this is a very positive sign for you.

I hope this dream will inspire you to keep up your courage and determination to find a way to resolve these conflicts in your life, Linda.

Let me know how it goes.

Tips for readers

Today I want to talk about using dream incubation as a tool to answer specific questions and address concerns in our lives. Before going to sleep simply ask yourself for a dream about a certain issue. The dream message you receive may be a direct response, like “yes” or “no,” but is more likely to be in the form of a picture or a story.

Along with the message, be sure to look at the emotional content of the dream. Were you fearful, joyful or merely observing? Try to relate the dream to your particular question. How does it fit? Does the dream propose a course of action or does it evoke more questions?

Remember, the way you solve your problem is up to you. Your dream is only giving you one possible solution. Next week we’ll explore dreams using the dream incubation method.

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